“We’re not furthering our culture by arming everybody…..when you leave your house, go out in public and have to arm yourself, what message is that giving our kids?”

And what would a topic about gun rights be without OSU rag The Lantern getting involved using fear-mongering to make their point:

Here is a campus activity, complete with all the alcohol, adrenaline and testosterone that can be expected during a pre-Michigan November dive into sub-freezing waters, in which, should an altercation break out, bullets might replace fists. This would certainly be a worst-case scenario to allowing those with concealed-carry permits to arm themselves on campus.

What is humorous about the Lantern article is that they even admitted that there is a chance that allowing students to carry guns could protect them. Franklin County Sheriff Steve Martin practically answers their fears by saying there were no incidents involving those with conceal carry permits.

The reality is, the majority of gun owners treat their constitutional right with respect and learn how to handle their guns. It’s the troublemakers that make life difficult. To answer Ms. Hoover, being armed means that you decrease your chance to become a victim. If you are a responsible gun owner with kids, you will teach them to respect that weapon and how to use it properly.

I believe that these ‘gun-free’ zones leave students to be sitting ducks. In the V-Tech and NIU tragedies, armed students could have stopped them before it happened. The tide of support is slowly growing to reverse it, but the misguided and naive views of people like Hoover and The Lantern will lead the fight against it.

Regardless, I’m glad to see that Ohioans are still exercising their constitutional right with obtaining permits.